Cheddar's special post State of the Union show is a wrap-up of President Trump's big night: what were the highlights, what was the reaction, and most importantly, what's next for the GOP?
In his first official State of the Union address, President Trump said the country is strong, and that now is the beginning of a "new American moment." He touted tax reform success and a surging stock market. Republicans cheered, while most Democrats remained seated. Congressman Joe Kennedy III gave the official Democratic response, rallying Americans unhappy with President Trump's harsh rhetoric.
On Capitol Hill, Cheddar's J.D. Durkin spoke with numerous Democratic lawmakers moments after the speech, including Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA). He asked each of them how they view the state of America right now.
Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) said President Trump gave a "great speech," but Democrats are against his personality, and therefore, his policies.
U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) shared her concerns over the Republican tax reform bill and her excitement for the SELF DRIVE Act.The bill meant to expedite the testing of autonomous vehicles was unanimously approved by the House.
After groundbreaking results in the 2017 off-year elections, newly elected Virginia delegate Elizabeth Guzman joins Cheddar from Capitol Hill. She discusses her pride in being a one of the few Latinas taking office, what it means to represent Latino children, and why the state of Virginia responded as it did at the ballot.
The one thing issue that could impact Hawaii more than it can any other state is North Korea, Colleen Hanabusa told Cheddar. "I'm just glad [Trump] didn't start tweeting while he was in South Korea."
New Jersey's first Sikh mayor spoke to Cheddar about 2017's groundbreaking elections. Bhalla says that American citizens wanted to have their voices heard at the ballot boxes.
This congressman believes that President Donald Trump understands what it takes to prevent North Korea from expanding its nuclear weapons project. As the president continues his multi-nation trip in Asia, this is the message he hopes Trump gets across to North Korea and other countries.
Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger joins Cheddar to remind us that Russia is not our ally. He says that the administration's possible involvement with Russian interference in the U.S. elections remains unclear, but the country needs to adopt a tougher stance on the issue.
"[Putin] is actually a bad dude," Kinzinger said. He points out that prior administrations that have been optimistic about smoothing over relations with him have never succeeded.
"He's really just an old KGB agent that wants to basically tear up the old way of Eastern Europe," Kinzinger said.
As Washington debates the future of Obamacare, the former Congresswoman representing the U.S. Virgin Islands says the statute is still "the law of the land," and it will be difficult to eliminate.
While the Republican Congressman from Ohio says passing new laws on gun control won't solve the problem, he points out that current laws need to be followed and that there's no right or wrong time to talk about the issue.
The congresswoman says that President Trump tries to undermine institutions that challenge him and encourage check and balances, something deeply troubling.
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman shares her outlook on mass shootings in the U.S., a day after a gunman killed 26 in Texas and just a month removed from her own city seeing the worst rampage in U.S. history.
